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Then she knew the truth She wasn’t paralyzed Oh, she could move, but only a little because of all that snow, compressed around her body, molded to her like concrete The snow had her and wasn’t about to let go

She was buried alive

12

"Shut up!" Quick as a snake, before the thought streaked fro whipped Dale a fast one across the jaw The bloas hard, a crack like the shout of a walnut bursting under pressure The punch jerked a gasp fro’s hand, a bright ball that mushroomed to a burn he felt all the way to his elbow "Shut the fuck up!" he screamed

"Attaboy!" Aidan crowed as Lucian and Sa, ?"

Kincaid--his friend, a nicereally liked--held out his hands They were saturated with blood "Greg," he said, that one eye shining and so bright it hurt to look "Stop, son You’re better than this Don’t you see what’s happening? Peter and Chris would never--"

"BUT THEY’RE! NOT! HERE!" Greg bellowed He could feel the cords knotting in his neck One renade "They’re gone, and it’s all on !"

But he thought of his mom and dad at the same moment: how ashamed they would be His o, he’d smashed his thumb with a hammer, so that was understandable Neither ever raised a hand to hiuys aren’t here either Things aren’t so easy anyive me a break

"And you," he said to Dale Privet, "you’re one to talk about us You’re a thief You came to steal You’re no better than the rest of us"

"But you don’t understand I was just so hungry," Dale whispered, tears leaking from his eyes to trickle down his te’s fist was stenciled on the old man’s cheek, and there was smear of fresh blood on Dale’s chin The rest of his face was the color of salt "You don’t knohat it’s like, now that there’s nothing coot nothing No deer either, no raccoons--all the ga out there anyot no ammo to speak of even if there was What ahter, she’s just a baby, she--" Dale’swas breathing hard, and God, his head hurt fro that pushed behind his eyes and ht just dribble out of his ears But his heart--he felt that clench and go hard as stone "You said you were alone"

"I--" Dale’s eyes were so huge with terror and dread, the irises were nothing but pinpricks "Please They haven’t done anything It was me You have the power to save the’s radio, which was clipped to his hip, let out a rapid series of clicks: break-break-break

"Well, look at that, Dale," Greg said, with absolutely no hu acknowledged by keying the unit with a quick double-click One of a half dozen World War II relics Rule had scrounged and then doled out to key personnel, the radio was always kept to a single dedicated channel To save on batteries and

il sa jbick boost trans but coded clicks and Morse Greg listened to the coain "Co’s up"

"That’s what I’auze to his cheek His blood was already drying to a rusty bib on his parka He favored them all with his one-eyed stare "I felt it, and this isn’t earthquake country It’s the beginning of sobad"

"Uh-huh" Aidan snorted "Next thing you know, he’ll be spouting Bible shit like Jess"

"Leave hi on with Jess was strange Kincaid kept her apart froe potions, even slept in her room at the hospice

The ruibberish half the

ti was so curious that when he’d delivered a prisoner to the hospice, he’d waited

until Kincaid was busy, then sidled to her rooht table filled with books, the roo special But then, of course, there was Jess

She doesn’t even look real Like plastic Jess was like a body laid out for

a viewing, only propped on her left side with a pilloedged against

her back to keep her froht

ar, neat

braid froe over half her forehead Her

face was off-kilter, the dome of her forehead sunken over her left

eyebrow froun’s butt had cratered bone But then he noticed Jess’s eyes roa? He hadn’t expected that The effect was bizarre

and more than a little creepy because the rest of her was so disturbingly slack Then, all of a sudden, her lips twitched as she pulled in a

gasping inhale and breathed, "Leavethemboytheyareblind" The hair rose on the back of his neck Boy? Was she talking about

him, to him? That’s nuts, that’s crazy The words were only air They